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THE GOODIES CLARION AND GLOBE

THE OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF 'THE GOODIES RULE - OK' FAN CLUB

THE GOODIES STILL ALIVE ON STAGE

SPECIAL EDITION

27TH MARCH 2005

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C&G CONTRIBUTORS: Grant Abt, Kristen Allender, Alison Bean, Steve Brickman, Lucy Brown, Bronwyn Castles, Cat, Mark Chambers, Tim Chmielewski, Lisa Clark, Linda Connell, Suzanne Cooper, Ray Davis, Marc Edwards, Linda Gaines, Steve Gerlach, John Hatfield, Wendy Hill, Bec Hofman, I&J, Karen Jackson, Janna Jacobs, Jo & Bill, Kate, Brian Labza, Kirri Liepens, Sammi Martin, David McAnally, Scott McClelland, Penny Millard, Neil Morris, Jeremy Nolan, Ruth, Stephen Oakes, Paul, Amy Rixon, Tim Thomas, Ben Tumney, Peter Wearden, Miranda Worthington

DO BIRDS have a sense of humour? Comedian-turned-ornithologist Bill Oddie isn't sure. "But, if they do, I'd love to think that they're sitting back and laughing at all the rest of us fussing and chasing after them," he says. It could be a scenario for an episode of the former television comedy The Goodies with Oddie and colleagues Tim Brooke-Taylor and Graeme Garden dressed as birds and - typical of British comedy of the time - adopting different socio-economic roles and attitudes.

The three eccentrics on their customised bicycle for three (the "Trandem") were a perfect salve to a 1970s Britain racked by strikes, a three-day week, inflation and unemployment. And, it seems, they were even more popular in Australia. Now, amazingly, they've reunited for an Australian tour, principally to take part in Sydney's Big Laugh Comedy Festival. Just don't call them legendary. "It makes us sound as if we're dead," Oddie says, slipping into one of his favourite daft dialects. For the past 10 years, he's been presenting bird and wildlife programs on British TV. A younger generation there know him only as "Britain's best-known bird watcher", a tag which amuses him. "Name me one other. There's not exactly a lot of competition."

He says they are flattered by the interest of fans, but he also remembers what fame could be like when they were at their peak in the 1970s when, in addition to their successful TV series, they had a number of top-20 records and best-selling books. Fans could become a bit obsessive, like the times when a local school gave its students the day off so that they could watch an episode being filmed nearby and the book signing in Manchester when the police refused to guarantee their safety.

In reflection, it's intriguing that the comedy of The Goodies should be so visual as they had come from a verbal tradition of comedy with the Cambridge Footlights, alongside Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, John Cleese and David Frost, as well as writing and performing for BBC Radio. After Cambridge, Oddie wrote scripts for BBC-TV's That Was the Week that Was and was in a number of radio programs such as I'm Sorry: I'll Read That Again. Listening to these programs, 40 years on, is a reminder of how class-based so much British comedy was then. It even continued through into The Goodies where Oddie's earthy proletarian character was a foil to Brooke-Taylor's establishment character and Garden's middle-class back-room boffin.

And, unlike the Python members, the members of The Goodies never fell out with each other. "The secret to that is not seeing one another too often," he says, laughing. His new life as a wildlife presenter on TV is not such a change really. He's been an obsessive bird-watcher (as a well as a comedian) since childhood. But his cheeky humour evaporates when he talks about the present world scene. "Terror thy name is Bush, and Blair's just as bad," he says. "You get pessimistic about the future, but in the end you hope that the people with the power will use their brains or be got rid of."

ABC television's decision to play and then repeat The Goodies in a children's television timeslot, rather than the late night slot it received in Britain, meant much of the popular series was censored. Oddie says showing the censored footage as part of the stage show will prove how pointless and "bizarre" the cuts were. After watching the shows again, all agree their favourite episodes are Earthanasia and The End in which the three spend their time together in confinement and without their often wild film excerpts.

The first time I met the Queen she was fairly disdainful, until the Duke Of Edinburgh told her that The Goodies was one of Prince Charles' favourite programs, so she came back and chatted again. Prince Charles, many years ago, agreed to be in one of the shows - and eventually he wasn't, because the palace people wouldn't let him - but it was the one where the Queen said "Whoever will rid me of this plague of Rolf Harrises shall have my son's hand in marriage." He agreed to play himself, and I would be married to him. I did a pantomime one Christmas, and Prince William came backstage. I was blathering away and said, "Your father was a big fan," and he said, "Oh, he still is, silly old man."

Garden trained as a doctor but has never practised. Asked an impertinent question about how he justifies spending his life making jokes rather than saving lives, he answers, "I don't think I would have done it as well. It's an interesting question - whether you've contributed more to the vast store of human enjoyment by doing comedy or by being a doctor, but the answer for me is that I don't think I would have been as successful or as happy being a doctor."

Various Goodies have pointed out that they are one of the few acts - comedy or musical - to disband without acrimony after a successful run. Tim Brooke-Taylor works intermittently on television and regularly on radio, although he had a comparatively lean time in the 1990s. Bill Oddie recently suffered a debilitating period of clinical depression, but he has carved his own niche as a wildlife advocate, an extension of his longstanding interest in all things ornithological.

PRINCE Charles must be thrilled to be on tour at the same time as one of his favourite bunch of comics, the Goodies, who kicked off a national laugh-in in Sydney last night. Monarchist Tim Brooke-Taylor told yesterday how he tried to "marry" HRH and very nearly had Charles in on it "until higher counsel prevailed". "I actually met William once and told him I had almost married his father," said Brooke-Taylor. "They still aren't sure who his real father is," quipped Graeme Garden. The show was almost stolen by the omnipresent Jimeoin, who snuck on stage in work boots, multicoloured undies and a sailor's hat. "I'm embarrassed - they asked me to come out at the Big Laugh Festival," he said to an amused audience.

As I took my seat inside the elegant surroundings of Hamer Hall, I couldn't help but marvel at the expectant buzz among the capacity 2600-strong audience. Although many of those present, particularly GROK fan club members, still had wonderful memories of Tim Brooke-Taylor's visit to Melbourne for Kitten Kon five years ago, this was something even more special - the opportunity to see all three Goodies in person and Still A-live on stage. The level of excitement and anticipation among those present - many proudly wearing their Goodies t-shirts - was really something incredible to be a part of.

The announcement of the arrival of The Goodies saw the noise level escalate to an almighty roar as the superchaps three entered the picture resplendent in their Ecky Thump flat hats; not aboard the trusty trandem bike, but astride a three-man zimmer frame complete with Goodies flag. Half way across the stage the zimmer frame got up a better burst of speed than Black And White Beauty and the panicking Goodies went careering out of sight. Seconds later there was a loud crash, Ecky Thump hats went flying in all directions and the three Goodies stumbled back onto the stage, with Bill derisively yelling, "How convincing!". A hilarious start which really got the audience into the spirit of things straight away.

Graeme was first to the lectern and kindly told the audience, "You haven't changed a bit.", but as a scornful Bill pointed out, seemingly neither had Graeme, who was still sporting a luxuriant head of wavy hair and those legendary fuzzy chops sideburns. Bill suspected that Graeme had "a koala on his head ... and look at those baby wombats on his cheeks!", to which a peeved Graeme said, "It's perfectly natural. Feel it!" and handed his wig to Bill. To delirious laughter from the audience, Bill took the wig back to his chair and sat it beside a saucer of milk on the floor, (even patting it periodically during the remainder of the evening), while Graeme removed his "wombat" whiskers and forlornly told them "You're orphans now". Classic stuff!

Graeme then told us that The Goodies were an agency who were "willing to do anything, anytime, anywhere" and what they were going to do that evening was to answer questions sent to them by fans; the first one being "Why have you come to Australia?", which he struggled to find a non-aggressive inflection for, before providing the following answer, "Because we were asked ... asked to leave Britain!" in his trademark deadpan delivery, to another burst of laughter from everyone.

According to Graeme, it seemed as though the Goodies had been forgotten by people in Britain for 25 years, but then suddenly the British remembered who the Goodies were and told them to get out! Luckily the Goodies had heard of a little island in the South Seas (possibly named Munga!) where the natives worship Prince Philip, or "Him Bigfella Greek Twit Blong Missy Kwin, as Prince Charles calls him!" They had also heard of a slightly larger island where the natives just might worship The Goodies as if they were gods; a line which drew a rapturous ovation - you've come to the right island, fellas! Graeme also cunningly revealed that the Goodies were here because: "if we're going to do a show like this, and embarrass ourselves, we might as well do it as far away as possible from anyone we know!"

Having been treated to a few minutes of vintage Graeme, it was time for Bill and Tim to be properly introduced; again to the most tremendous clatter of applause (no need for any clap gas here - David Frost would have been most envious!). Tim looked as though he had just walked off the set of the show, resplendent in his Union Jack waistcoat, though seemingly not wearing his shiny shoes, and responded to Bill's command to wear a pair of Union Jack undies by promptly putting them on his head! Bill proudly told us that he was wearing the Australian national costume: a Wallabies t-shirt (over a pot belly), shorts and a baseball cap on backwards. He quipped, "I look like Lleyton Hewitt's Dad!"

The most frequently recurring questions sent in by Goodies fans seemed to be about the trandem and how awkward it was to ride on their various adventures. Tim introduced an excellent video compilation of trandem highlights from the Goodies' first tumble from it in "Beefeaters" through to the abstract mess left at the end of the energetic "Greased Cycling" routine from "Saturday Night Grease", commenting that the bike was always more popular with fans than the Goodies themselves, before Bill provided the definitive answer to the trandem's whereabouts by triumphantly holding aloft a little chunk of compressed scrap metal and grumbling, "And that's just the way we like it! I still hate that bike. Hate it!" to more delighted cheers.

The Goodies' most painful moments while filming the show brought an amusing anecdote from Tim about badly cutting his hand while aboard the trandem when it was suspended from a balloon during the filming of "Kitten Kong". A burly stagehand took one look at the wound and promptly fainted, before Tim tried to explain the circumstances of the injury to the BBC's French nurse, only to be told abruptly to "piss off" when he started jabbering on about a giant kitten in French!

Graeme's injury was very tame by comparison - a wasp that "could have" stung him but he was too busy doing his David Attenborough impersonation at the time to notice! - however Bill had everyone chuckling with his recollection of the Goodies being sandwiched into giant toothpaste tubes and repeatedly banging their heads on the metal caps while bouncing up and down on spacehoppers in the "London to Brighton" episode. He plaintively cursed the fact that the Goodies insisted on doing this stunt themselves despite no-one being able to tell who was inside the costumes, and this brought one of the best lines of the night from Graeme, "The sad part is that Bill still thinks it was Tim and I in the other two tubes!", to which Bill hissed, "Bastards!".

Bill soon had his revenge, however, by replaying the final scenes of "Bunfight At The OK Tea Rooms" which showed Graeme making one of his most spectacular death dives after squirting himself with lethal tomato sauce. Bill gleefully explained that Graeme had taken the precautions of placing foam padding all along his back, only to overdo the gymnastics and make an undignified (and unpadded) landing flat on his face! A slow motion replay confirmed this diagnosis, much to everyone's utter pleasure, except Graeme's of course!

The topic of how the Goodies first got together prompted some strange time travel courtesy of Tim and we were treated to some interesting photos on the screen supposedly of the three baby Goodies together, preparing for their first Vicars & Tarts Party among other things! Tim then recreated how he got to audition Bill and Graeme for the Cambridge Footlights in the early 1960s, with Bill singing a song which was meant to spell out his love for his girlfriend, only to spell out the rather unromantic word, "BLIMPHT" instead.

Graeme's Footlights audition was my own personal highlight of the night, and quite probably the highlight for many other fans too. Stating: "If this goes badly, I'm Eric Idle!" when asked his name by Tim, he brought in a collection of cardboard boxes and staged a "Pets Corner" segment which was a brilliant exhibition of the various "make a ball of fluff look like a real animal" scenes in many of our favourite Goodies episodes. There was the sabre-toothed mongoose which viciously shredded a rubber glove that Graeme had wisely put on his hand before opening its box, and the baby rabbit (Little Bunny?!) which ran up and down his jumper before it was unfortunately squashed in his hand and callously thrown away. The lesser tawny owl was also a cute specimen which wouldn't take its sharp claws out of Graeme's fingers despite several attempts to remove it, so it was subtly despatched with an almighty whack from a wooden mallet! And finally, the release of the vampire bat saw it go for Graeme's throat in a perfect copy of the sequences in "Kitten Kong" and "That Old Black Magic" only for it to be hastily shoved back in the box and kept at bay by Graeme holding a crucifix above it. The master at work, and it was a privilege to be there to see him first hand.

This led into interesting recollections of the Cambridge Circus tour to New Zealand in 1963 and the subsequent production of the much-loved radio comedy series "I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again", which featured the three Goodies, John Cleese, Jo Kendall and David Hatch, who, Graeme dryly noted, has recently been knighted for his service to BBC radio by finally leaving it! Other collaborations between one or more Goodies such as "Twice A Fortnight", "At Last The 1948 Show" and the pivotal "Broaden Your Mind" were all discussed in an enjoyable history lesson before the formation of The Goodies was discussed, and in particular, the decision not to call the show "Superchaps Three" or "Narrow Your Mind', but rather something worthy of people who would be saving the world in the spirit of The Avengers or The Protectors. Just as well, I reckon, as a theme song of "Superchaps Three, Superchaps Superchaps Yum Yum" just wouldn't have cut the mustard!

A question regarding Jon Pertwee's guest role in "Wacky Wales" led to Graeme telling us about how Jon strictly managed to keep to the script by putting copies of his lines all over the set and only ad-libbing when Tim purposely stood on the bit of floor that had his next speech written on it. A series of clips featuring prominent female guest stars on The Goodies was also shown, with Graeme commenting about the good guest roles written into the show for women and Tim making a tongue-in-cheek remark that he should have got to play all of those roles himself!

The issue of censorship arose, and with it, the wet blanket of self-appointed moral guardian Mary Whitehouse from the Festival Of Light, or "The Reverend Fred Nile in drag", as Tim charmingly described her. He recalled how embarrassed the Goodies were to receive a letter from her congratulating them on making such a nice clean first series (she obviously wasn't watching her TV on the night that "Playgirl Club" was screened!) and so they tried to upset her by savagely sending her up as Desiree Carthorse in "Gender Education", with the screening of the "How To Make Babies By Doing Dirty Things" sequence from this episode bringing fits of laughter from the audience.

Bill related that there was no response from Mary Whitehouse at the time, however many years later The Goodies were summoned to the BBC Director General's office because Mary had sent a furious telegram of complaint about a scene in "Saturday Night Grease". On came the video screen and we were treated to the sight of Tim getting dressed in his disco gear before strutting down the street and shock, horror ... it was the sight of the large carrot motif on Tim's undies that finally proved too much for Mary's sensibilities. The Goodies couldn't have been more pleased either - redemption at last - though they were rather baffled as to why it was this particular scene that finally made her sufficiently appalled to fire in an official complaint after several further series of the show had passed since they first tried to offend her.

The censorship theme also extended to the re-enactment of some of the choice dialogue that the ABC had seen fit to remove before screening The Goodies at 6pm, with phrases like "I'm knackered" and "barbecued badger balls" seeming pretty tame by today's standards, although "Upside down with a goat" and "After the young maidens of the village have licked off his coating of porridge" would probably still fall foul of the ABC censors. Footage was shown of the shower scene from "Scoutrageous" and the Fairy Puff Detergent ad which had been completely cut from "Beefeaters". They also managed to find a spot for a favourite sketch from Tim and Graeme's classic radio comedy show "I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue", with a horrified Graeme efficiently censoring a medley of supposedly bawdy Julie Andrews songs with the help of a loud buzzer to hide the rude words. The best example was a whole series of buzzes, followed by Julie warbling, "...tied up with string. These are a few of my favourite things."

A discussion about animal cruelty on the show, particularly a lady who wrote in complaining about the harsh treatment to an obviously-stuffed Black And White Beauty, was neatly turned around to prove that animals were also cruel to the Goodies, most notably to Tim during the filming of "Kitten Kong". The dog that Bill was walking decided to leave a big heap of barkers eggs on the exact line of the stop frame filming where Tim was being dragged along the ground by the kitten, but rather than mess up several hours of filming, Tim nobly kept sliding on straight through the fresh steaming pile of dog poo. Again, slow motion video replays were used to provide the evidence that Tim genuinely suffered for his art!

The recollection of how t'ancient Lancastrian martial art of Ecky Thump really did turn out to be lethal after all in the mid '70s by causing a man to laugh himself to death while watching the battle scene drew one of the biggest laughs of the night, especially when Graeme mentioned that the man's widow had later written to the Goodies thanking them for making her husband's final moments so happy! The screening of this offending battle scene almost produced another en-masse kicking of the bucket, judging by the shrieks of laughter from the audience, as Bill despatched allcomers with his deadly black pudding.

A question (from me, much to my surprise!) about which medium the Goodies most like to work in led to the response of radio, and a performance of the "Jack The Ripper" sketch from "I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again". I felt that this section probably went on a bit too long, but it was still very enjoyable; laced with puns and silly sound effects (cue Bill's hilarious Chinatown sections) and worth it just to hear the reappearance of Lady Constance de Coverlet, whose voice was also used for many of Tim's female roles in The Goodies. Attempts had been made to modernise the script with mentions of Kylie Minogue, and also Lady Constance "having a rump so laden with blubber that Greenpeace would send a boat to protect it!"

The Goodies then asked the audience to nominate their favourite Goodies clip and a mixed vote was eventually coerced into watching the closing chase scene from "The Movies", which seemed to be an appropriately humourous way for the Goodies to conclude the show and leave the stage to a great ovation. However a few seconds later they were back, carefully checking their tour conditions brochure to ensure that they had done everything that they were supposed to do.

Upon filing out of Hamer Hall, I overheard literally dozens of conversations between excited Goodies fans and not a single negative word about what they had just been treated to onstage, which was a pretty good testament to the brilliance of the show. Tim, Graeme and Bill also proved that they're not just a class act on stage either by appearing at the stage door after the second show and happily mingling with fans for photos and autographs until close to midnight, which really made the night even more memorable for those who stayed on afterwards.

Highlights for me? As mentioned earlier, Graeme's "Pet's Corner" was just superb, the slow motion replays of Graeme's death dive and Tim's doggy-doo experience were fascinating, and the chance to laugh until I cried at many of my favourite Goodies scenes in the company of more than two thousand fellow fans was a wonderful experience. Another interesting thing was observing the reactions of some of the young kids sitting nearby - the delight on their faces at the visual sequences and contrasting blank looks after some of the verbal material proved that while there are certainly two different levels to The Goodies, it's definitely a show for the whole family to enjoy. The mix of clips from the episodes, anecdotes from behind the scenes, verbal and visual sketches and new linking material was extremely good and well balanced, which was a credit to all concerned with the planning of the event.

And as for a score on my patented Black Pudding Ratings System, well, not even a covert after-hours raid on Peckinpah's Perfect Puddings None Blacker would procure enough black puds for me to give The Goodies Still Alive On Stage a high enough rating. I had previously considered the Kitten Kon video night linkup between Tim, Graeme and Bill in 2000 to be the most memorable 100 minutes of my life, but this magic night in Melbourne was even more brilliant than that.

Here's hoping that "Missy Kwin" gets the distraction of Prince Charles' wedding out of the way and gets on with the really important stuff - giving Tim and Graeme their OBEs to go with the one that Bill has received already. Maybe she could make them an Earl and an OBE ... you know the rest of it! Otherwise we'll happily take up Tim's offer to become our King Tim the First and then he and the other two Goodies can provide us with such royal entertainment more often. Congratulations Tim, Graeme and Bill, and please come back for an encore soon!

The show consists of Tim, Bill and GG wandering the stage in turns, talking to each other and the audience, answering the previously provided questions and launching off into rambling answers that are more or less relevant but always supremely entertaining. The answers were often embellished by clips from the DVD's - apparently they had permission to use about 40 minutes of material from the DVD's in the stage show, so the clips were restricted to these sources - this was also pragmatic, as the picture quality was very good and certainly impressive in the vast theatre.

GG talked about a 'hair raising' incident as David Attenborough (I think from Animals) where a wasp flew up his arm and 'could have' stung him, Bill talked about the trials and tribulations of bouncing around the world inside giant toothpaste tubes and about how GG became the master of padding himself on the back in order to do his spectacular pratfalls - then showing the end scene of OK Tearooms (the showdown with tomato squirters), proving that GG cleverly pads his back - then falls flat on his unpadded front!

This led of course into a discussion about cutting The Goodies in Australia, with showing the infamous "shower scene from Scoutrageous" and an early advert with Tim and the Fairy Puff girl. GG also discovered a very rare bawdy ballad by a young Julie Andrews - actually a very clever replay of various innocent songs from My Fair Lady and Sound of Music, with judicious bleeps that almost brought the house down. One thing I have always admired about GG is the way he makes creating deadpan comedy seem so effortless on his part.

They talked about the death toll from the Goodies, including the fatal scene from Kung Fu Kapers causing a poor soul in the UK to laugh himself to death, and how they preferred working in radio - thus launching into an extensive retelling of the Jack the Ripper sketch from ISIRTA. Debate has raged in the list about the relative merits of this, but I found it very funny, although I felt it ran a bit long and ran out of steam at the end more than coming to a neat conclusion.

The Goodies then bowed out gracefully, after about 110 minutes, to tumultuous applause from the audience - but wait, an encore? Have they done all they promised - jokes, reminiscences, an explosion (cue fireworks) - ahh, songs - here they launched into a sing-along with Funky Gibbon, to round off the show. Personally, I don't think it worked that well on the show I saw, but that is only relative to the sustained hilarity that preceded it and what the hey, it was fun anyway.

I also had the great fortune of meeting Bill, Tim and Graeme back stage at the State, courtesy of Lisa M. I think I managed to impress them when I said that I had come to Sydney to see the show twice whilst sending my new wife off to our honeymoon in New Zealand and promising to catch up with her later! (Actually, it was a holiday not a honeymoon, but it was a good story - for the record, my darling wife and I had a great time in New Zealand and the marriage is A-OK!!).

After both shows, the trio obligingly and kindly signed autographs and posed for the fans in the stage entrance to the theatre - I thought this was a nice touch and would have loved to have overheard their conversation in the van as they were driven off later. Bill in an earlier life had always wanted to be a pop star - maybe he got his wish, maybe they all think it is bizarre after this time, I just want to thank them for coming out to Australia and providing a generation of Australians over 20 years or so with such a vast reservoir of comedy and good memories - and what can be better than that?

My name is Lisa (the other one) and I saw the first Goodies show in Melbourne at Hamer Hall. I went with a group of friends who I'd been to Kitten Kon with. Our seats were in the 2nd row and I was on the aisle. So close!! I discovered the Goodies when I was about 12 and they became a fixture of my teens and part of my whole way of looking at the world. Kitten Kon was fabulous, but seeing them all perform together was amazing and I'd have travelled interstate if necessary (as others did), but luckily they came to Melbourne!!

They came out on stage in a three person walking frame. Sort of Trandem for seniors and Graeme was wearing a silly wig and side burns which Bill grabbed and after a bit of petting, placed down on the ground with a bowl of milk. The show was structured around questions they received on the Internet from fans. This allowed them to tell stories of their most painful stunts on the show and how they all got together. Tim told how during the "Kitten Kong" episode, when the kitten was dragging him around the park he was dragged across dog poo!!! If you freeze frame (as they did) you can see the dog poo.

Talking about censorship they read out naughty words edited out by the ABC for the 6pm timeslot, and most of them weren't terribly naughty. They understood and played to their audience brilliantly and told lots of great stories, showed accompanying clips from their TV show and performed a few sketches. Including an "I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again" radio sketch about Jack the Ripper, which they seemed to enjoy doing as much as we enjoyed watching them. Graeme did a sketch where he did some cruelty to some pretend fluffy animals and was attacked by a rubber vampire bat which made me scream and jump from my seat! There was also a bit of singing and some fireworks.

I have now kissed all 3 Goodies! It was so worth waiting backstage, they patiently signed for everyone. Bill signed for everyone quickly - moving down the line and didn't stop for much chat. As he signed for me, I said "I had such a crush on you as a teen", to which he said sheepishly, "just as well we grow out of these things" and later as he left I heard him say to someone "Oh I thought you wanted a kiss" and I piped up: "I'll have a kiss!! Can I have a Kiss?" he hesitated, turned and smiled and said "Oh, alright" and it was lovely. I don't have a photo but will remember it forever.

Tim said they were sorry they could only use footage from the released DVDs in their show for contractual reasons and that they had been a bit worried about how audiences would take to them and I said how I'd been to Kitten Kon and so knew they'd be wonderful and had encouraged others who were glad they came to the show. I told him how a friend had run up to me after the show that night, crying, mascara running and thanking me for telling her to go. The Goodies had exceeded her expectations and fulfilled her dreams. Me too.

The Goodies first appeared on stage in a zimmer frame built for three (Tim was at the front, Graeme was in the middle, and Bill was at the back). They "lost control" of the zimmer, and overshot to the other end of the stage, with a crash heard after they left the stage. They then came back on stage without the zimmer. Graeme had a young looking head of hair and sideburns, which attracted the attention of both Tim and Bill. Bill managed to remove Graeme's wig (but left the sideburns), and Graeme commented that Bill had killed the poor thing, and took off his sideburns, telling them that they were now orphans.

Bill said that they all realized that the most popular cast member was the trandem, and that they were not at all jealous about the trandem being the most popular amongst them. They then showed footage of the trandem, including Bill Oddie riding to bicycle to market in 'The Goodies and the Beanstalk', and the portion of the 'Saturday Night Grease' episode which dealt specifically with the dismantling and rebuilding of the bicycle - and then, holding up a small bag, he said "And here it is".

In response to a question about how they first met, they showed a series of photos of three babies, pretending that they were the babies in the photos. They then lost contact, but met up again in Cambridge and joined the Footlights. Tim pointed out proudly that he was the President, and that it was his job to audition people like the other two. They then performed a sample audition. Tim put on his smoking jacket and sat down for his part of the "re-enactment" of the auditions. Bill came out on stage and sang "Blimpht!".

Then Graeme came out with a couple of large boxes, and when Tim asked him his name, Graeme responded, "If this goes badly, it's Eric Idle." Graeme then performed his sketch about unusual pets, including an unseen sabre-toothed mongoose which shredded his gauntlet, and a tiny owl which sat on his finger, with incredibly sharp talons, which digs into the flesh to give it good support. He then put the owl down, and then lifted his hand to continue with the talk when he discovered that the owl was still attached to his finger. Graeme then pointed out the sharp eyes, and then put it down again, and then lifted his hand to continue with the talk when he discovered that the owl was still there. Graeme pointed out the owl's sharp beak. He then put the owl down again, and lifted an enormous mallet which he smashed down onto the table (behind the boxes and supposedly next to his hand). When Graeme lifted the hand again, it was sans owl. Graeme then introduced us to the vampire bat, which flew straight for his neck when he opened the box. When he had finished the sketch, Tim said "Thank you, Eric Idle".

After Tim and Bill finished talking about Cambridge Circus, Graeme came back on stage, and said "If you've been wondering where I was while all this was going on, I was having a cup of tea and a biscuit". The Goodies then went on to discuss some of their other work, including "I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again" - showing a photo, in which they pointed out the additional presence of John Cleese, Jo Kendall, and the now Sir David Hatch, who ran BBC Radio for a while, and was knighted for Services to the BBC by leaving it.

Bill talked about their television ventures: Tim in "At Last the 1948 Show", Bill and Graeme in "Twice a Fortnight" (Bill mentioned that Germaine Greer performed sketches on "Twice a Fortnight", so next time she comes over all serious, just remind her of that), and Tim and Graeme in "Broaden Your Mind" (Bill added that, when he read about "Broaden Your Mind" in the television guide, he thought to himself that he didn't know that they were doing a comedy, and then when he turned it on, he found they weren't - they needed him for the comedy). Finally they got together, and suggested to the BBC that they do a show where they have an agency in which they did anything anytime. They got the nod from the BBC.

They wanted something like the sorts of names that were around for agencies in those days, like "The Avengers", something with an action theme (other British programmes of that ilk from that time included "The Persuaders", "The Champions", "Dangerman", "The Baron" and "The Saint"), so they first called themselves "Superchaps Three", then "Narrow Your Mind", and then "The Wiggles" (which was an obvious dig at Amanda Vanstone's ignorance of them), and finally "The Goodies". Bill then revealed that at the start of "The Goodies", none of them knew how to ride the bicycle, so that when they got on for the first time, they did genuinely fall to one side, and they decided to keep that part in. When they were riding the bicycle in those early episodes, somebody was actually pulling them on a rope. They then showed their first ride in "The Tower of London".

In answer to another question, Graeme pointed out about the great guest stars that they attracted, like Joan Sims and June Whitfield (they showed a bit of "Come Dancing", since that episode had both as guest stars), the lovely Jane Asher (they showed a clip with Tim and her visiting Graeme's punk cafe from "Rock Goodies"), and two Doctor Whos (Patrick Troughton and Jon Pertwee). Jon Pertwee had notes everywhere with the script. Tim deliberately stood on some of the notes at one point, and Jon Pertwee had to ad lib, and he may have invented an entirely new language. Also mentioned was Beryl Reid's performance of the Mary Whitehouse character, Desiree Carthorse.

Bill explained that they did their own stunts, including wearing toothpaste tubes and bouncing around on balls, for Sparklipegs Toothpaste. He commented that there was a sort of frame with a weight at the top to make the toothpaste tubes remain upright and, that every time they bounced, the frame kept hitting them on their heads. Bill then complained that it was all for nothing. Pointing at the photo of them in the toothpaste tubes, he asked if anybody could tell that it was them inside. Of course we couldn't. Graeme then said that Bill still believed that it was him and Tim in the other toothpaste tubes - following upon which comment, Bill exclaimed: "You bastards!!!".

They also mentioned that they were censored. They read out bits of dialogue which had been cut by the ABC over the years, and also showed the "Fairy Puff" ad from "The Tower of London". Tim also mentioned that Mary Whitehouse had written in, praising their show for being so clean. This horrified them, so they set about trying to offend her, and were pleased when they were called in to the office of a manager at the BBC, who told them that she had complained about something in "Saturday Night Grease". They played the opening scene, allowing the audience to see if they could spot the offending image, and then they told what the offending image was.

Graham Garden, Bill Oddie and Tim Brooke-Taylor might have swapped their three-person bicycle for a three-person walking frame, and Garden may have lost those characteristic mutton-chops along with the rest of his hair, but Oddie is merely fatter and Brooke-Taylor seemingly hasn't aged a day. I don't think I'm giving anything away if I say that Brooke-Taylor still has a very fetching Union Jack waistcoat. Even better, The Goodies are still funny, particularly Garden, whose razor-sharp understatements are as trenchant as ever.

Their stage-show? Well, it's a bit like a film night with three eccentric uncles, as The Goodies set up a big screen and reel through some of the highlights of their career, answering previously emailed and faxed questions from Australian fans along the way. This allows them to revisit some of the highlights of their eight-season catalogue, including Kitten Kong, Kung-Fu Kapers, and Movies, which on second viewing proves a remarkably insightful spoof of cinematic convention and screen history.

To prove they still have it, there is also plenty of live humour, including a vintage comedy skit from Garden and a hilarious radio show of the type Brooke-Taylor and Oddie cut their teeth on in the era of the radio series I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again. Finishing with some pointless explosions and a rendition of Funky Gibbon, the trio left a suddenly rowdy QPAC crowd screaming for more. Age shall not weary them. The golden age of British comedy lives on.

* I attended the final show in Sydney on March 13. I was impressed by the State Theatre and was amazed at how 'British' it looked (fitting really). I have been a Goodies fan since about 1975, which is the earliest memories I have of the trio from Cricklewood. I'm an Australian now living in England (for the past 5 years) and have been amazed (and saddened) by the lack of awareness of the Goodies on their home soil. Apart from Bill of course, what with his wildlife shows. It's also been a real treat for me over the past 5 years to have slowly become aware of many of the 'British' references in the Goodies shows (eg Black pudding, Mary Whitehouse, many of the British actors).

Growing up watching the shows as a kid in Australia, we missed the significance of many of the references. So, on a recent trip to London I was bowled over when I saw a road sign showing me the way to...Cricklewood! Yes, it's a real place after all. I couldn't stop laughing for about 20 minutes and the people in the car with me thought I was bonkers. Until recently I lived in Lancashire (Lancaster city) and so the home of Ecky Thump (Rochdale, where Bill was born), was only just down the road. I worked with a women from Rochdale, and the first time I was introduced I said "ah Rochdale, the home of Ecky Thump!", but she just stared at me as if I had overdosed on black pudding.

Anyway, all this is just to say that I was bursting with excitement at the prospect of seeing in person the three men who have made me laugh more than anybody, ever. The show was brilliant. Although they all make me laugh, for me it's Graeme who is the comic genius. He did a section where he 'beeped' out some of the words to Julie Andrews' songs, implying that she was foul mouthed and sang dirty songs. I've never wet myself in public before, but that is the closest I've ever come. I could feel the tears dripping down my cheeks. It's one of the funniest things I've ever heard. I couldn't see any TV cameras around, but it would be fantastic to see that again.

After a 90 minute wait (well worth it) and calming the boyfriend down from people jumping the queue, which had been a mere 5 people long when we joined it.. and had become to more like 50.. most of whom had squished in, in front of us - rudeness...) the stars emerged from the building and mingled amongst everyone as if at a casual drinks party, cheerfully signing brochures, DVDs, books and collectables from avid fans of the trio for many a year... and chatting about their stay so far and teasing us with the possibility that they might just come again now that they've realised that Oz really is quite a charming place, tucked away like the bellybutton of our planet.

* I have been a part of the Goodies Rule Ok club for quite a number of years now and unfortunately a few years back I couldn't attend the convention which I wanted to be a part of due to other reasons, but managed to score tickets off the internet for the Show here in Melbourne last week for the Still Alive On Stage show. The show was extremely funny and very well done with the questions. Good to see The Goodies haven't lost their touch! I have been to many comedy shows before but I don't think I have ever seen anything as well done and as funny as the show last week. It was also great to see that there were people ranging in age too from young to old. This goes to show their "legend" will live long and a show that was born in the 70's can be around for many years to come for people to enjoy. Credit goes to Tim Brooke-Taylor, Graeme Garden and Bill Oddie for doing the show.

* I saw the first Melbourne show, and loved it. They guys were very funny, very relaxed and worked well together. The funniest part was Graeme with his animals. It was pretty well the same sort of routine he used to do in various Goodies episodes - pretending that an animal is climbing up him, one is stuck to his hand, a vicious bat, etc. Very well done. The chat about the various episodes was good too. It would have been nice had they shown some clips other than from the DVDs though. Also, the so-called "programme" (programme? - glossy advertisement more like) was overpriced and lacked new information for the real fan.

* My parents were huge Goodies fans from the beginning - if there were such things as Trekkies for The Goodies, that's what they'd be. We went along to the first Melbourne show, and I'd never seen them so excited in a long time. Tim, Bill and Graeme came on and the crowd went absolutely mental. I have never been part of an audience that was so into the performance. One of the Goodies would mention something, say the Bunfight at the O.K. Tea Rooms showdown scene (with Graeme's lovely fall) and there would be a huge roar of cheering and clapping. It was absolutely electric. Tim, Bill and Graeme were on fire comically as well. Their timing and understanding of one another was brilliant. There are not many comedians out there today that can make me laugh, but I went home from The Goodies with a sore stomach. The only real complaint I have was that pretty much everything they showed was from their DVDs (probably because it was the easiest stuff to get and their promoting the thing anyway). Practically everything they said I already knew (and I wouldn't consider myself that much of a fan), but it was still hilarious, so I'm not complaining on that front. I would definitely love the three guys to come back and do some more shows, maybe even have a question time from the audience.

It was the best show I have ever been to in my life and it was worth it. After the second show my friend Lydia and I went and waited outside the stage door in hope that we would get to see them. After waiting for about an hour and half they finally came out, I was lost for words there standing next to me was Bill. I gave him my DVD cover to sign and politely asked for a pic, and he said "sure not a problem". I then Graeme and got him to sign my DVD as well and had a quick chat to him, told him how I had travelled like 600kms just to see them tonight and replied with " Oh my gosh, and I'm glad you enjoyed the show". Lastly Tim came out and I got him to sign the DVD too and asked if my friend Lydia and I could please get a pic of him with us and he did. He had his arms around us "Oh my god"....we thought, Tim Brooke- Taylor has touched us". (and it wasn't even in a disco either! - Ed)

* When I first discovered the Goodies were to tour Australia I was very excited to say the least!! Unfortunately my boyfriend didn't share my enthusiasm! To get him to the show I told him we were going to see the monster trucks!! (He was a little confused as to how the trucks were going to fit onto the stage!!) Once he did discover he was in fact at a Goodies show he declared he would only pay me back what he thought the ticket was worth! I am very happy to say that once he settled in he really enjoyed the show and by the end of it he was a fan, and I was paid in full for the ticket! Well done fellas, another Goodie recruit!!

What impressed me the most happened outside after the second show. Fans had been waiting to meet the boys since the end of the first show, and a lot more turned up after the conclusion of the second show. After a long wait and the nervous question of 'will they or won't they come out to see us' Bill appeared and ended our suspense. Tim was next, followed by Graeme not too far behind. I was very impressed that the three of them stood outside for over an hour and signed everything that was waved in front of them, granted every photo request and answered questions thrown at them from all directions. After two shows in a row it was probably the last thing they wanted to do, but they did it with sincerity, a fantastic attitude and good humour and no-one left disappointed! It really was a great way to finish the evening.

* I attended BOTH shows in Melbourne and, honestly, I think they were having a ball. There was terrific banter between all three and they really seemed comfortable performing with each other. In fact, I was surprised just how smooth they were - just like thirty years ago. It was like stepping back in time. The unscripted digs and gags at each other's expense, often leading to the other members cracking up and losing their place, were the highlight of the evening in BOTH shows.

Graeme was especially good in his Footlights audition piece and one-liners. The wasp story was a great little touch as well. Tim seemed very at home in his waistcoat and created an excellent balance between his character and his real self on the stage and his offer to become King Tim was something that has needed to be said for years. Bill was full of energy and added in a great ad lib by bowing down and worshipping the big screen when it wouldn't work. They all seemed to be having a good time too. Best live show I've ever seen.

After meeting up with Lisa Melbourne in the café, among others, we waited at the stage door to meet Tim, Graeme and Bill. Bill was out first and was like greased lightning signing autographs. He signed one item for me and I took a pretty fluky photo of my head and Bill sort of next to/behind me. Graeme and Tim stayed for a lot longer and talked with everyone. Graeme signed three items for me and I posed for a photo with him and then went and did the same with Tim.

I also made Tim and Graeme laugh which was nice. Did some accidental slapstick for Graeme, taking a photo of his feet because I hadn't realised I'd pressed the button, and he enjoyed my surprised reaction. I made Tim laugh when he said there wasn't enough of him to go around and I suggested that we needed a packet of Tim Brooke-Taylor-tams to share around (he was holding a packet of Tim tams someone had given to him). Also nice was that Tim remembered me from the convention and we had a nice chat about the photo taken back then of me eckythumping him. Before leaving I went back to Graeme and shook his hand and then Tim and Graeme left. All in all a great time and was good to see so many fellow Goodies fans. (and t-shirts!) Anyway, one of the best nights of my life.

* What can I say but "THANK YOU" to The Goodies. It was the best show I have seen in a very long time. My cheeks were cramped from smiling and laughing through the whole show. As soon as the old opening sequence of "The Goodies" show played ... all those memories of sitting too close to the TV watching them at 6pm every afternoon came flooding back. I got to meet them after the Brisbane show and my only regret was that I didn't thank them enough for a wonderful night and unforgettable series. The nicest entertainers I think I will ever meet.

* I was lucky enough to go to the second show at Brisbane. Have to say that I haven't laughed so loud for a long time. When the guys first came on stage I cried because it was so surreal that after thirty years of watching them on and off on the BBC and ABC, I was now, after all this time, seeing them 'LIVE' in a show. Loved all parts of the show and was lucky enough to have my question read (You know, the one about the dead guy). That was mine! At one stage I was in tears from laughing so much and my stomach ached because I was busting for a leak. My wife, who is not very Goodie au fait, had a fantastic time as well and was wrapped after the show when we went to the Stage Door and were lucky enough to meet Tim, Bill and the other one at the stage door. Thanks for letting me get a photo with you guys, and Graeme. I had a fantastic night and I will remember it for a long time to come. I wouldn't dare say that I was their biggest fan because I'm sure there are a lot of others out there that could easily claim that. But I am certainly lingering around the upper middle end of the scale and they have been one of the constants in my life. And when I'm old and wrinkly and feel that it's time to leave this world I'll put my collection on and go out with a laugh!!! I'm going to take my photos my wife took of me with you all and frame them and mount them next to the picture of my wife with Michael Jackson (hey what's his hand doing there?)

The finale of the night was somewhat surreal. The Goodies left the stage, the house lights went up, and nobody left. We sat there applauding, wondering if or when they were going to come back out. Then Luke yelled "Come back!" at the top of his lungs, and everyone went crazy, clapping and yelling and stomping. In spite of our best efforts - about five minutes worth - the Goodies didn't return to the stage for a final farewell. An announcement was made: "The Goodies have left the building" and everyone went "Awwwwwwwwww," and started to shuffle out. It was a very strange feeling, sitting there with 1800 other people who didn't want to go home.

One big disappointment though was that the QPAC theatre did not allow any photos at all !!! I was hoping that they would at least allow non flash photography, but they had staff standing in the aisles ready to pounce if you had anything that remotely looked like a camera. Some people ignored the rules, but one of the staff was practically right next to me so it was difficult to get away with it. I know it's normal these days to ban photography in most venues, but considering that the Goodies are major childhood icons for most of us and the rarity of a live tour, they could have at least provided a slot at the end of the show for us to take a photo. Just one photo taken with my own camera would have been worth more to me than all of the merchandise being sold in the foyer.

Guys, this is a truly great show. I haven't had a good belly-laugh in a long time, and The Goodies gave me the much-needed comedy relief that I've been craving! There are some truly brilliant moments in the show that had me sinking to the floor in fits of hysteria. All three of them, despite the baldy wigs and fat suits (they WERE suits, right? *scratches head*), put on the best comedy show that I've had the pleasure of seeing. It was an evening of happy, cheeky and sometimes painful memories, and I as an audience member thoroughly enjoyed reminiscing about the good ol' days right there with them. I also loved feeling like I was part of the show, like a valued fan, as many others did that evening. I spoke with a lot of fans pre- and post-performance, and those warm fuzzy feelings were shared amongst all I met.

Highlights: A conversation about censorship leading to a segment in which Graeme bleeps out choice words in early Julie Andrews songs, purposely making them sound very rude; the re-enactment of the classic Jack the Ripper sketch from "I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again"; their classic entrance on 'trandem mark II' (a three-person walking frame); and the boys generally ribbing one another for their outrageous and often painful antics. Oh yes, and Bill highlighting the lump of dog poo that Tim had to endure during Kitten Kong was hilarious!

I was lucky enough to meet the lads afterwards; they were very approachable and friendly (even while being surrounded and shut in by almost a hundred excited fans) and were also very obliging to those hungry for photos and autographs. I was able to chat with Tim the most. The reports are true - he is a perfect gentleman. We chatted about the show being on ABC when I was in primary school, and he made a comment along the lines of, "You haven't changed a bit since primary school!" - to which I replied, "Yes, you're the reason I'm so well-adjusted!", going high-pitched and crazy at the end. That got a good laugh and then he started reading my shirt, which read, "WARNING - This body contains: Adult themes - Nudity - Coarse language". Of course, he loved the shirt very much, saw my camera and said, "Well, we HAVE to get a photo of that! I like a bit of rough stuff!" Then he swept me up in a hug and it turned out to be the best shot of them all. I only chatted briefly with Graeme and Bill, but I did talk about Bill's necklaces. I forget what he said each symbol meant, but they obviously meant a lot to him.

Thanks. That's a word I've found myself saying a lot these past few weeks. Like many of you, I was fortunate enough to attend the "Goodies - Still Alive on Stage" shows in Australia earlier this month. About a week before I left for Sydney I read a 1975 interview with the Goodies in which they spoke about wanting to do a stage show but didn't know how to translate their television show into that format. I imagine it was an even more daunting task 30 years later. Thankfully Tim, Graeme and Bill are funny, intelligent, talented individuals who were more than up to the effort. But back to them in a moment...

While in Sydney I met John Pinder and others from Sydney's Big Laugh Comedy Festival who were responsible for producing the Goodies' tour. I was glad to have the opportunity to thank them for all the information they'd sent us about the shows and for setting up some ticket pre-sales especially for club members. In return, I was pleasantly surprised when they repeatedly thanked the club for all our support in helping to make the tour such a huge success.

I'm also grateful to all the fans who added so much to the tour. The audiences were fantastic; I attended several shows and kept thinking "this is the best audience yet!" only to see the crowds grow more and more enthusiastic each night. It was so exciting to be a part of all this! It was also wonderful to see all the postings to the club forums (http://www.goodiesruleok.com/forum.php ) and goodies-l mailing list - thanks to everyone for sharing news, thoughts, comments, reviews, pointers to Goodies interviews, etc. The club wouldn't be the same without your input!

And finally, we return to the Goodies themselves. The enthusiastic audiences, excellent reviews, and warm reception they received while in Australia were certainly a big "thank you". Let me add additional thanks for their incredibly hard work and generosity to the fans. There were many times over the course of the tour when the guys finished their shows late at night but still spent plenty of time with the fans waiting by the stage door, signing autographs, chatting and posing for photos. These very late nights were often followed by very early mornings during which the Goodies gave interviews and met other obligations. I'm sure they often didn't get much sleep but they never let this show in their performances or in their interactions with the fans. We can't thank you enough.